Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

ISSY033

Incident date

April 29, 2023

Location

حمص, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.640616, 36.707550 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On April 29th 2023 the Israeli military reportedly launched missiles which Syrian air defence systems reportedly shot down around 12:55 am in the city of Homs, Syria. There were discrepancies in the accounts of the incident, with some sources reported that three civilians were injured while other reported that four Syrian soldiers were injured.

Local sources varied on their descriptions of the strikes and their resulting damage. Most accounts corroborate the timeline of the missile being launched at midnight and shot down, igniting a petrol station, fuel tankers and trucks.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also claimed that a munitions depot, under Hezbollah control was hit. SOHR – quoted in Aaswat News, Bladipresse, and Achrafieh News – verified that the missiles hit after midnight but claimed that it struck an ammunition depot belonging to the Lebanese “Hezbollah,” in the area of the Dabaa military airport in the countryside of Homs, which led to its complete destruction, as well as weapons trucks. There were a few accounts by the Observatory, including one claim by sources that the “the gas station belongs to a person affiliated with the Lebanese “Hezbollah”. The Observatory later reported that the incident injured “four Syrian soldiers, and destroying a truck carrying weapons belonging to (Hezbollah).” SOHR also reported that “violent explosions were heard as a result of the explosion of the ammunition stored in the warehouse, and fires were seen burning at the site, without information about human losses so far.”

A tweet from @aabnour quoted Intel Times Hebrew that identified the location as “a military convoy belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah, which was parked at the “Shahr Al-Alewi” gas station near the town of Shinshar on the Damascus-Aleppo road.”

Military sources, who were quoted by Aaswat News, Syrian Arab News Agency (Syrian regime-controlled news), BBC, Almehwar News and other media, claimed that three civilians were injured. Social media posts captured the fire outbreaks.

According to an Israeli website quoted on Halab Today TV,  the missile was prompted by an “Antonov 74” medium sized Iranian cargo plane’s activity in the area.  The IDF did not comment officially on this strike. Homs is near three air defense bases, one of which is in Shinshar, and two are near the suburb of Al-Andalus.

The incident occured between 12:00 am and 12:55 am local time.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention an vehicles being struck in the vicinity of Shaher Alolaiwi Station (محطة شاهر العليوي). According to research conducted by @aabnour, the potential location of this strike is: 34.640616, 36.707550. Cross referencing evidence from audio-visual material from sources, we are however unable to confirm it as an exact location due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Infrastructure
    Gas Facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Suspected target
    Hezbollah
  • Belligerents reported injured
    0–4

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • Alleged Israeli strikes on Homs on April 29, 2023. (Posted by Achrafieh News)
  • Location of the strike, posted by @HalabTodayTV.
  • Alleged Israeli strikes on Homs on April 29, 2023. (Image posted by Lebanese-forces)
  • Location of the strike, provided by Intel Times Hebrew and posted by @aabnour
  • Alleged Israeli strikes on Homs on April 29, 2023. (Image posted by @AlarabyTV)
  • Israel bombed weapons depots in Homs, Syria, tonight. The bombing was the heaviest in years
  • From #Homs, last night - side effects indicate what was in storage

Israeli Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Israeli Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Infrastructure
    Gas Facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Israeli Military
  • Suspected target
    Hezbollah
  • Belligerents reported injured
    0–4